Only A True Jock Can Get 100% On This Sports Lingo Quiz
- by Dylan Jacob
- – on
- in Sports
With baseball season underway, the NFL Draft approaching, and both the NBA and NHL playoffs having just started, you're going to hear more and more sports lingo in the coming weeks. Both the cliches (he's a grinder, he has the will to win) and the words that sound like they're made up will both be appearing on your TV sooner rather than later.
Today, you're going to tell us how much sports lingo you actually happen to know. We do have some ground rules for this quiz, though they're fairly simple:
No nicknames for players, teams, or stadiums. So no A-Rod, no Big Papi, and no Honey Badger. No Evil Empire for the Yankees, no America's Team for the Dallas Cowboys.
Certain events in sports which have unique nicknames are included, but all will be fairly recent. We won't ask you to tell us what Bobby Thompson's walk-off home run in 1951 was called. (The Shot Heard 'Round The World, by the way.)
There are certain things on this quiz which have multiple nicknames or terms which could apply in general. There will be only one correct term included among the answers. If a question was "what is a baseball game that goes past nine innings called?" then only one of "extra innings" or "free baseball" would be included.
A home run with three runners on base is called...
This is such an easy term that you shouldn't have any problems getting this right even if you could care less about baseball. This is the ultimate home run - and seriously, there actually is an ultimate variation of this play which comes when a team is down three with two outs in their last at-bat. When you hit one of those, you know that people are going to remember that home run. We certainly hope you know what this is called.
A nose in boxing is known as the...
Every boxer has to have a weak spot, even if they do their best to keep themselves upright. If you've ever watched HBO's "The Wire", Avon Baksdale said his boxing career ended early because his forehead was a weak spot. The nose is a frequent weak spot for many boxers, mainly because if you've ever been punched in the nose, it hurts. Badly. Boxers have a term for the nose, and it's one you've probably heard elsewhere. What is it?
What does one call a baseball hitter who will follow the current hitter?
Let's say Aaron Judge is at the plate for the Yankees and Russell Wilson, when he decides that the NFL isn't for him and he wants to escape with his body intact, will follow Judge at the plate. Will Judge strike out, or will he hit a home run? Or will he walk like he has been to start the early season? You're probably realizing at this point that if you know sports, the majority of these terms are easy. Right?
A person who criticizes or passes judgment with the benefit of hindsight
Yeah, yeah Skip Bayless fits this mantra, but so do many other sports writers, broadcasters, and analysts. Even I fall under this, although I try to keep my hot takes to a minimum. This is very easy in sports, like asking why the Yankees continue to keep Tyler Wade and Dellin Betances at the pro level or why the Browns opted to keep whatever quarterback they currently have as the starter. Then, we all get proven wrong. That's the fun of sports.
Synonym for the free throw line
You know why they call a free throw...well, a free throw? You literally get a free throw (shot) because someone fouled you. Good thing for simplicity, right? Free throws take place at the free throw line (simplicity) but there's another name that adds a bit more creativity to it. You can use it in other contexts, I'm sure, but it definitely applies to basketball...where the term originates from. Simplicity! You shouldn't have any problems getting this one right, we hope.
Nickname for a baseball umpire
No, the terms "blind", "idiot", and "moron" don't apply here. Regardless of where the umpire is stationed, whether it's behind home plate or out in the outfield during playoff games, managers and players will often use this term to get the umpire's attention. We're not quite sure where said term came from, though we have an idea it has to do with the umpire's position and role. Although, that should be pretty obvious, shouldn't it? What's the correct answer here?
An interception returned for a touchdown
So your quarterback goes back to pass, throws it in to triple-coverage like anyone on the Browns will, and it gets intercepted and returned for a touchdown. But you don't want to say that Patrick Peterson, Marcus Peters, or any of the league's defensive backs intercepted the ball and brought it all the way back for a touchdown multiple times. The entire point of lingo like this is to simply things, so you'll say, "Yeah, so-and-so had a ____ to put them up."
Intentionally hitting a hitter with a baseball
We just saw this last week in the Yankees-Red Sox game, where Joe Kelly threw at Yankees hitter Tyler Austin over what the Red Sox pitcher thought was a dirty slide into second base. We're choosing to use A-Rod getting hit here because at least later in the game, Rodriguez hit a deep home run to center field. Karma! There are other terms you can use to describe a hitter getting intentionally hit with a pitch, but only one of these is the answer.
Throwing at a hitter's head
Intentionally hitting a guy is one thing, especially if you aim at an area that's protected or you go for somewhere like the back. But when you start throwing at people's heads like the Red Sox did last year with Orioles star Manny Machado, you're opening yourself up to a lot of problems. If that fastball hits the guy square in the face, he cold be looking at permanent damage all because you wanted to send a message. What's the proper term?
When three of something happens
The term seems to have orignated in hockey, but has made its way over to baseball as well when a player hits three home runs or strikes out three times. Football has it as well, like if a quarterback throws three interceptions or a running back scores three times. You could use the word "trifecta" to describe the event without being incorrect, but there's another term that is more commonly used and the picture probably gives it away. What's the answer?
The Pacers-Pistons fight
One of the ugliest nights in NBA history came nearly 14 years ago, when the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons got into a nasty brawl that wound up involving fans at the end of a 97-82 Pacers win. When all was said and done, NBA suspended nine players for a total of 146 games - Ron Artest of the Pacers lost the rest of his season for jumping into the stands - and the players losing $11 million in salary. Five players were also charged with assault leading to the incident being dubbed...
Intentionally fouling a basketball player who can't shoot free throws
As much as people hate this tactic, there's no denying that it works. Why let a better free throw shooter make it to the charity stripe when you can foul someone who makes less than half of their free throws. Would you rather send the guy who makes seven out of ten, or four out of ten? Exactly. There are legitimate arguments about it ruining the integrity of the sport, but teams are always going to do what it takes to win.
The New England Patriots' video taping scandal
Even if you weren't a football fan when this wound up happening, you have to know the name of this incident. The short version is that Patriots coach Bill Belichick was having people film the opposing team's walkthroughs so New England could learn their schemes and what they were planning. Though this was only proved of happening against the New York Jets, members of the St. Louis Rams claimed New England did it before the Super Bowl in Feb. 2002. What was the scandal?
A big hit in football (which came from Madden)
The term here probably was used before 2004, but EA Sports' Madden NFL 2005 brought this term into the limelight. When you wanted a defensive player to brutally lay someone else out, you flicked the right stick up to apply this. Of course, what we know about all of the injuries players suffered and the concussion crisis means to these hits not being as revered as they once were, but there actually was a time people loved to see these insane hits.
Having runners in scoring position...
We just used Alex Rodriguez here because he thrived with runners in scoring position at times and he struck out with runners on second and third at times too. But A-Rod always took the plate with the same approach when he had runners in scoring position: drive them in and rack up some more RBI. Oh, and bring the Yankees closer to getting a chance at winning the game. This term isn't used as much anymore, but take a guess.
Player with high expectations who does not produce
Ryan Leaf, JaMarcus Russell, Brien Taylor, Hasheem Thabeet, and Greg Oden are all examples of players who fall under this after being drafted. Someone like Carl Pavano, B.J. Upton/Melvin Upton Jr., Albert Haynesworth, or Tyson Chandler applies when to comes to being signed. Yankees fans are currently worried that Giancarlo Stanton will have this term used on him if he fails to produce in the Bronx, but he at least had a strong week this past week. What's the right term?
Bunting with a runner coming home
This is a dangerous play for many reasons, especially in large part because advanced stats are showing that bunting may not exactly be worth it unless runners are on second and third with none out. But some great baseball moments have happened either because the bat made contact with the ball or because the bat missed, leading to the runner needing to basically run into the catcher to force the ball out. What would you call this extremely risky play?
Being thrown out of a game
Maybe you disagreed with a call, which led to screaming and calling the umpire or referee a no-no word. Maybe you threw at a guy when you shouldn't have. Regardless, you've been ejected, which on its own is a fairly simple term. However, others in sports like to use a different form of lingo which is a bit more creative, though we're only going to include one of the more common ones below so you don't get confused. What's the answer?
Advanced stats in sports
The Houston Astros have probably become the biggest example of this movement, having tanked and changed their entire front office approach to focus more on advanced statistics. How important is a guy getting on-base compared to a guy just hitting home runs and striking out? How many pitches should we let this guy throw, even if he's on normal rest? Advanced stats are making their way into other sports as well, though baseball remains the most notable. You know this, right?
A college player sitting out his first year at a school
Technically, this does apply to players who are injured as well, but it's most frequently seen with guys who come and sit their first season at a new school. Transfers have to do this as well in the major sports, though the NCAA may wind up changing that in the coming years. Former Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota, for example, sat as a true freshman in 2012 and was able to declare for the NFL Draft as a ____ sophomore after 2014.
A batter hitting below .200
Yankees infielder Tyler Wade is the perfect picture to use here, as he is hitting .133 through the first 90 at-bats of his career. That's not only unacceptable, but that's horrific. We may get to the point where we rename the ____ line the Wade line, though that may not come for a while. That's nothing against Wade, by the way, but it's sad to watch him struggle so badly against big-league pitching. What is the actual line known as?
A ticket given to a spectator at an outdoor event providing for admission at a later date
This works for other things as well, so you may very well know it based off that. There are a lot of baseball fans who are going to get that opportunity with how many rain and snows out there have been in the young season. The Yankees had a double-header entirely rained out earlier this month, so they'll have to make it up in June on an off day. And no, rain out isn't the term we want here. The term actually is...
Preparing to fight
This mainly applied - and still applies - to boxing and hockey, but I think we can all agree that the sight of it happening in other sports gets the blood going and people in the stands excited. Call it toxic masculinity from the players or just sadism mixed with aggressiveness, though there's a reason why the crowd erupts into joy and shouting when two teams start fighting. You probably have figured out the term by now, but if not, try.
A play where a quarterback can run or toss it
This is a pretty basic term, I think, but you may very well know better than me. Although, if I'm the one making the question, I would know what the answer is, wouldn't I? Anyways, the way that this play works is that the quarterback can either run with the ball or toss it to his running back - or, in some cases, even an eligible wide receiver. The term coincides with the fact that the player has the ___ with what he wants to do.
Wearing a baseball cap inside out
The idea behind this superstition is that when a team is down late in a game, teams will flip their hats inside out to flip the odds and walk away with a win. Like most superstitions, it has no affect on the game's final outcome, but it's a fun team thing the way a kangaroo court or everyone growing mustaches is. I do wonder what would happen if a player took the field with his hat still like this, though. What's the answer?
27 up, 27 down
There have been some harder ones on this quiz, that much is certain, so we're going to give you a bit of an easy one. A pitcher faces all 27 batters - three men each for nine innings - and gets all of them out, walking away with all 0's in his linescore...aside from strikeouts, in which there more often than not is a decent amount. Only one of these has been thrown in postseason baseball history. What's the answer?
When a player goes in for surgery
Again, this term applies to people in the real world as well, so you may even have used it yourself if you've had surgery for something. I know I've used it when I had to get a procedure here and there done, as do I know that I'd definitely use it if I wind up needing surgery for something down the road. This will either be very easy or very hard, but you at least have a 25 percent chance here.
Announcing a higher attendance than what it actually is
Technically, "lying" is correct, but is that the actual term that people use? The Miami Marlins aren't guilty of this anymore, as they've taken to announcing the true number of people in the stadium as opposed to paid tickets. Come June, they may be announcing less than 1,000 people are in the ballpark if numbers have been this low to start the regular season. That's what happens when you trade everyone and alienate your fans, I guess. What's the term here?
Selling tickets second-hand
This happens with concerts and I'm sure even movies as well, so you've had to have heard this term in other contexts not limited to sports. But if you get a ton of tickets for something, you can sell them second-hand outside the stadium rather than going through something like StubHub. People are always willing to buy tickets off these guys, though you have to avoid the people who look like they're trying to con you. What's this act called?
A player using performance-enhancing drugs
Drugs are bad, mmmmkay? Mark McGwire still thinks that even without steroids, he'd have set the then-MLB record for most home runs in a single-season (70) back in 1998. OK, then. Baseball had the Steroid Era and football is still struggling with players taking PEDs and then claiming they had no idea how they got into their system. At least baseball players found ways to be honest when the time came. What would you call a player who was using drugs?